Baby Name of the Day: Tiberius

Publicity photo of William Shatner as Captain ...

Captain James Tiberius Kirk; Image via Wikipedia

He puts the T. in Captain James T. Kirk, and before we went boldly where no man had gone before, he was a Roman Emperor.

Thanks to Sarah for suggesting Tiberius as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Fetching Names: Other than Danger

The middle name is a good place to go a little wild.  With the exception of a passport and possibly a marriage certificate, we’re rarely required to reveal our full name as adults.

So if you give your kiddo the middle name Danger, it is usually up to him to reveal his extreme appellation, or to go through life pretending the D is for David.

Then again, he could grow up to be an X-Games athlete, or maybe an International Man of Mystery.  Austin Powers, after all, claimed Danger as his middle name.  (Though Mike Myers went ahead and called his new son Spike.)  It isn’t just an urban legend – from twins in Australia who both share the menacing middle to Jakob Danger Armstrong, son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe, there are kids who do, indeed, have a built-in laugh line in the middle spot.

So let’s say you respect your partner’s longing for a daring, masculine middle – but want something slightly less cliched?  Here are a few ideas.

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Unexpected Middle Names for Girls: The Letter E

e

Image by foto.bulle via Flickr

Note: In all posts, links appear in blue text.  When a name appears in bold text, in blue, that means the link goes to the Baby Name of the Day post.

Oodles of women have the middle initial E, and my (completely unscientific) observation is that nearly all of them are Something Elizabeth Something.

And why not?  She’s a saintly, regal classic.  Elizabeth fills in the gap between a short given name and not-so-long last name, or vice versa.  She can anchor a gender-neutral or extremely uncommon choice.  And she’s been so popular for so long that chances are she honors someone in your family tree – or maybe lots of someones.

Of course she can also feel like a default choice – unimaginative filler.  If your last name is relatively common, and you’re in love with a popular given name, then Elizabeth might seem too plain – almost like no middle name at all.

But there are tons of intriguing choices that lead to the middle initial E.  Here are a few:

  • Elettra – Electra is an awful lot of name, even in the middle, but Elettra – the Italian version – softens the mythological overtones.  There’s also Eletta, a family name for the poet Plutarch.
  • Ellison – Surnames on girls are a touchy subject, but attitudes tend to soften if the name is in the middle spot.  Other elaborate E choices include Ellington, Ellery, Elliot, Emerson, Emery, and all of these ideas over at Nook of Names.
  • Elspeth – The Scottish spin on Elizabeth is only a tiny bit different, but it could be enough.  Other international options include the Italian Elisabetta or maybe even the Basque Elixebete.
  • Elsinore – She’s a literary place name, but if you’re looking for a literary E name, there’s also Eleanor or Elinor – not quite as unexpected, but still distinctively different.
  • Eluned – Borrowed from a 5th century Welsh saint, she takes the best of Luna and Ella and puts them together for an unexpected middle moniker.
  • Endellion - The Cornish saint’s name attracted a flurry of attention when British prime minister David Cameron and wife Samantha welcomed their daughter while vacationing in Cornwall – and called her Florence Rose Endellion in honor of her birthplace.  Another Cornish option?  Elowen.
  • Embeth - I’m not certain where Embeth Davidtz’ parents found her unusual appellation, but like fellow South African actress Charlize Theron, she wears the classic-with-a-twist name nicely.  In the middle spot, she’s a smoosh that could honor an Emma or Emily and an Elizabeth.
  • Emmeline - Or Emmaline, or Emeline, or even Emmalyn.
  • Estella, Estelle – A spin on the soaring Stella.
  • Esther - Like Estelle, she might not be long enough to bridge two shorter names, but she’s the kind of impeccable classic that fits nicely in the middle spot.  The French Estée might be another possibility.
  • Evangeline - She’s a poetic pick that’s catching on fast.  Evangeline is also more dressed up than Eve or Evelyn in the middle.  Other unusual Ev- options include Evadne, Evelina, Everild, Everine, or Everly.

I’ve only scratched the surface with this list. (Yes, I thought about adding Eirene to the list – but that seemed cruel!)  What have I overlooked?  And which ones are just way too good to hide away in the middle?

Sunday Summary: 12/27/09

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a very merry holiday!

In non-jingle bell news this week:

In celebrity news, while Johnny Knoxville welcomed a son named Rocko:

Check back this week.  In addition to the usual Names of the Day, I’ll be posting the Top Names of the Day of 2009.  Thanks for reading!

Name of the Day: Faye

She’s a fairy, she’s an enchantress, and she’s been the love interest of the world’s biggest ape.  Could this choice also be an ideal appellation for a daughter?

Thanks to Another for suggesting our Name of the Day: Faye.

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Simple, Sweet and Stuck in the Middle

We’ve written about middle names before.  But today, we’ve decided to offer a fairly simple list for your consideration.

While many of these are gender neutral, this list was compiled with girls in mind.  For decades, parents have stuffed an unimaginative Anne or Lynne between the first and last names.  More recently, Grace and Rose have become the most common answers to the riddle of the middle.

Many fabulous pairings do not require a single-syllable middle name.  We love unexpected combinations like Mary Veronica or Alice Zenobia.  But if you find that keeping it simple is more your style, read on.

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Stuck in the Middle

Poor Marie. The name hasn’t been in The Top 100 since 1957. But if you check the drivers’ licenses of women around you – in your office, your family or even just waiting at the bus stop – odds are that quite a few of them will have the middle name Marie.

The same is true of Jane, Ann, Mae, Rae, Lynn, Jo and, increasingly, Nicole, Christine and Danielle – though the latter three are still commonly bestowed as first names.

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